Network monitoring contract for Department of Defence

DARPA awards contract to Hewlett Packard for network intrusion detection system for protection from malicious software

HP has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - the central research and development organisation for the US Department of Defence - to develop a scalable network monitoring system.
The contract, valued at $3.6 million, entrusts HP to develop a scalable network intrusion detection system that provides visualisation and defence against cyber threats.

The system, currently being developed by HP, detects threats using proactive technologies and by monitoring fluctuations in network traffic to improve real-time analysis as well as visualisation.

Hidden data, which is potentially harmful, changes the flow of data distribution. These fluctuations can be used to identify harmful data in seemingly innocuous data exchanges. By using generalised information theory to observe network traffic, scalable network monitoring is able to recognise when hidden data is being transferred, even if the network itself is not aware of the intrusion.

"HP's scalable network monitoring system allows for a new, dynamic method of identifying suspicious data and detecting threats before they enter the system," said Mike Freeman, vice president, Federal Business, HP. "This system is one of the first of its kind to apply statistical physics to continuously monitor the defended networks and their environments."

The entire system is based on commercially available, off-the-shelf, midrange servers, which brings the total development cost down. These servers, coupled with a scalable approach, enable customers to implement the optimal configuration for their current environment while allowing for future growth. The cost will be scalable as well.

Federal agencies require security systems that anticipate new threats and adapt to counter them. Scalable network monitoring will provide optimum protection for networks, with cost and capacity that can be scaled to meet agencies' needs.